In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints we put alot of emphasis on the family. It is my goal in this post to give the reasons why this is.
We believe that family life here is an extension of what life was like in the Pre-earth life. We believe before we lived in this life we lived as spirits, as a part of our Heavenly Fathers family. In Hebrews it talks about this relationship, it says "Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?" (Heb 12:9). and also in Romans 8:16 is says "...We are the children of God."
Our Heavenly Father created a plan for us where we could come to the earth, and gain experience. He sent us here in family units so we could experience joy. Our purpose in this life is to find lasting joy, peace and happiness in families and to prepare to return to live with God. When Jesus Christ was on the earth he gave unto his apostle Peter the keys to seal families together for time and all eternity. "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matt 16:19)
Through the Restoration of the Gospel on the earth, we have these powers on the earth again to seal families together for time and all eternity. In our Holy Temples this great power is manifested and families are eternally sealed.
This knowledge that family life is perpetuated far beyond this life is why we put such a great emphasis on family life here. We are all striving to help eachother live the gospel and prepare to live together with our Father in Heaven forever. We have recieved lots of guidance in these latter-days about how we can accomplish this. Just 15 years ago, prophets and apostles announced "The Family: A proclamation to the world" This gives us alot of great counsel about the roles of family members, the importance of marriage, and the blessings of righteous family life.
A couple of weeks ago, The Quinones family pictured below, made another step towards this great goal of theres to be sealed as a family. Katy and Marina were baptized, and in a year from now they are going to go to the temple and be sealed as a family. I am so excited for them to accomplish this goal.
I know that families truly can be together forever, I know that this knowledge can strenghten families and bring them peace and joy in this life.
